Barbecue grills have become increasingly popular in recent years because of the interest in outdoor cooking. Conventionally, gas grills include a burner assembly adjacent the lower portion of a firebox with a cooking grid supported along the upper edge and lava rock located between the cooking grid and the burner assembly. The lava rock, acting as a form of a conductive member, absorbs the heat from the burning gas and provides a generally uniform heat-producing means for the food being cooked. Grease and other combustible particles, however, build up on the lava rock and cause undesirable flare ups and hot spots within the grilling cavity.
Accordingly, the Assignee of the present invention previously developed a gas grill which eliminates the need for lava rock. Such a grill is disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,677,964; 5,765,469; and, 5,934,183. The gas grills disclosed therein have revolutionized the gas grill industry by eliminating the need for the lava rock, which often caused flare-ups and which had to be replaced periodically due to degradation. The gas grills disclosed in the above noted patents utilize sear bars which are positioned between the cooking grid and the gas burners to vaporize any greases that emanate from the food being cooked. Accordingly, the food is cooked utilizing a generally indirect grilling method which substantially eliminates flare ups and provides for an initial searing of the outside of the food.
Following the remarkable degree of consumer acceptance for the commercial embodiment of the invention recited in the above noted patents, the Assignee developed a variety of accessories for such grill, including a smoker assembly which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,183 and is similarly assigned to the Assignee of the present invention. The smoker assembly of the '183 patent comprises a generally rectangular housing having a bottom wall made of a perforated metal material. The smoker housing is situated on the apexes of the sear bars of the barbecue grill. As such, the heat for igniting the wood chips in the smoker assembly is generated substantially by convection means through the perforations in the smoker housing assembly. Accordingly, it often takes a longer period of time than desired to adequately heat the wood chips to produce the necessary smoke.
Subsequently, the Assignee developed an improved smoker assembly which is described in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 6,102,028. The smoker assembly of the '028 patent includes a smoker container having a plurality of sides and a bottom defining a cavity of the container. The bottom of the smoker container has at least one opening to allow a portion of the sear bars of the grill to pass through the opening in the container and to be positioned within the cavity of the container to more efficiently heat the smoker particles via conductive means.
Both of the above-described smoker assemblies, as well as other prior art devices, however, do not have an effective means for distributing the generated smoke throughout the entirety of the grill. To date, all smoker assemblies merely provide for the smoke to emanate from the smoker container itself, instead of distributing the smoke throughout the entirety of the grill cavity.
Accordingly, there is a need for an inexpensive and effective smoker assembly for a barbecue grill that heats up the chips located therein more quickly and efficiently, and that distributes the smoke throughout the entire grilling chamber.